We're Smitten with This Textile Designer's Watery Patterns

Designer, Rebecca Atwood

Her studio may be in Brooklyn, but artist and designer Rebecca Atwood's watery textile patterns prove she hasn't drifted far from her Cape Cod roots.

By
the Editors

With an eponymous line of home goods, a popular design book, and a new collaboration with Chasing Paper, Rebecca Atwood is making her mark on the world of textile design. Here, she tells us why she prizes the process as much as the product.

Inspiration Destination: Her hometown of Dennis, Massachusetts. "Growing up, I spent a lot of time outside, so I draw from that calm coastal color palette in my designs—especially what the Cape looks like in the off-season, when it's very muted, but very chromatic."

No. 1 Must Have: A sketchbook. "You can do anything you want in there! It's less permanent; you're working small and just getting ideas out."

Meditation M.O.: The creative process. "Our marble designs came out of my love of a Japanese technique I learned in school. There's something meditative about floating ink on top of water; there's this element that you can't control."

At-Home Hobby: Experimenting with shibori. "The way the dye gets into the fabric changes depending on how you fold it, so each one comes out differently, the way the tide ripples the sand."

Current Project: A hand-me-down 1937 chaise from her parents. "I love it as it is, but it's really beat up. It has this faded floral, and the stuffing is coming out, so I'm going to reupholster it with something a little more modern and fun."

Life Hack: A good night's sleep. "People laugh—"You're supposed to be cool!"—but I really like to go to bed early. I think it's the secret to life!"